Put Down The Social Media
Social media is a stress-filled haven.
Whether youre scrolling Instagram and seeing other peoples seemingly perfect lives that youre comparing yours to or youre on Facebook reading about peoples tragedies and GoFundMe pages, its enough to make you take on other peoples stresses as well.
If youre so stressed that youre having trouble operating in your normal life, quit social media.
Log yourself out of your accounts, tell people that you usually communicate with that you can be reached on your phone if they really need to get in touch, and then go dark.
Start discovering your life away from social media and the constant and everpresent drone of the internet, and youll notice your stress levels drop noticeably.
How To Challenge These Thoughts
During your worry period, challenge your negative thoughts by asking yourself:
- Whats the evidence that the thought is true? That its not true?
- Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation?
- Whats the probability that what Im scared of will actually happen? If the probability is low, what are some more likely outcomes?
- Is the thought helpful? How will worrying about it help me and how will it hurt me?
- What would I say to a friend who had this worry?
Managing Stress In Daily Life
Stress is not an illness itself, but it can cause serious illness if it isn’t addressed. It’s important to recognise the symptoms of stress early. Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out ways of coping and save you from adopting unhealthy coping methods, such as drinking or smoking.
There is little you can do to prevent stress, but there are many things you can do to manage stress more effectively, such as learning how to relax, taking regular exercise and adopting good time-management techniques.
Studies have found that mindfulness courses, where participants are taught simple meditations across a series of weeks, can also help to reduce stress and improve mood.
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How Do You Let Go Of Something You Can’t Change
There are many things in life we cant change. For example, if a potentially good party got ruined due to the weather, you cant change that. However, you may find yourself worrying about the next party.
Everyone thinks about what they cant change, but there are times where it gets toxic. You may try to force other people to change and scare them away. You may handle the worst case scenario of something you cant change by always thinking about it, while ignoring the better cases.
Heres how you can gain enough control of your mind to stop worrying about what you cant change.
- Think about what you can change and what you cant. Find ways to increase your thoughts about what you can change. For instance, lets go back to the party. Maybe you cant change the weather, but you may be able to build a roof to prevent a storm from ruining a party.
- Think about what you can change and then model and set healthy goals to bring about change. Even if you dont succeed, theres a good chance youre stronger for trying to make the change.
- If you’re still unable to let go of what you cant change, think of quick little phrases to get that out of your head. For example, when youre ruminating, Change the channel is a good phrase to help you move away from what you cant control.
Tip Four Write It Down
Getting anything thats stressing you out out of your head always helps, hence why tip number three is to tell someone.
But writing it down just takes that benefit one step further.
Not only is it so useful if youre super overwhelmed because you have a lot to do, just because practically it helps to see it all laid out in front of you rather than trying to remember everything.
But if you suffer from racing thoughts, particularly if they stop you from sleeping, then keeping a notebook with you and jotting all those thoughts down will massively help to stop them swirling through your mind over and over again and allow you to have a much better nights sleep.
And, obviously, when you sleep well youre a lot more relaxed. I mean I dont know about you, but if I dont sleep well, Im pretty stressed and anxious the next day.
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Quick Stress Relief On The Go
In traffic. Play music or listen to an audiobook. Take a different route to see something new. Do neck-rolls at stoplights. Sing in the car to stay awake and happy.
Public transportation. Take a break from reading, cell conversations, and music to tune into the sights and sounds around you. Try noticing something new, even if youre on the same old bus ride.
Running errands. Wear a special perfume or lotion so you can enjoy it while you rush from place to place. Carry a stress ball in your pocket. Take a mental snapshot or postcard at each destination.
Waiting in lines. Instead of worrying about time slipping away, focus on your breathing. People watch. Chat with the person ahead of you. Chew a stick of minty gum.
Switch Up Your Routine
Sometimes, staying in one routine too long can actually cause stress rather than take it away.
Having a routine is important for many people to avoid stress, but what happens when you do the same thing day after day, eating the same dinner, waking up at the same time, taking the same train into the same job?
If possible, switch up your routine a bit.
Get up earlier to go for a walk before you go to work, bring something new for lunch every day, and pick up a new hobby that you enjoy to do in the evenings.
They say that one of the reason time feels slower for children is because theyre constantly learning and experiencing new things.
Go back to that childlike state of mixing it up and learning new things, and you may find that your life feels longer in a positive way.
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Ways To Stop Stressing And Focus On The Big Picture
Do you tend to obsess over minor details, or do you tend to zoom out and look at the broader perspective of a situation? Many people tend to focus on small things, which is often detrimental to seeing the big picture.
If youre aiming for success, youll want to keep an eye on bigger things than the small issues you encounter every day. But how can you make that work? Here are three ways to stop stressing over small things and retain focus on the bigger picture in a further five steps.
How Do You Do The Thing You Love
Whats your favorite thing to do? It can be playing video games, skateboarding, dance, or even a certain subject in school. Whatever you choose, its the thing you can happily do for hours without noticing the time fly by. You get better at it all the time, but practicing never feels like work. Heres the good news: improving at any skill requires the same steps: breaking things down, practicing small pieces, and being persistent without letting emotions get in the way. That means you already know how to work very successfully–and keep it stress-free. Take the way you work at the thing you love doing, and start working that way in the thing you hate doing. Pretty soon, the process will become painless, and your grades will start to soar!
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Watch A Favorite Television Show
One of my favorite tips for how to stop stressing out is to ignore the world around you and put on the television.
Often, we encourage each other to turn off the television and go out and do something else, but not in this case!
Youll likely have a favorite television show that helps make you feel calmer, likely a comedy or show you grew up watching.
If youre feeling stressed and just need to watch something that is going to instantly put you in a better mood, put that television show on with no regrets.
Have a whole television show marathon if you want, snuggled up on the couch and checking in with your favorite characters.
Avoid dramas or action-based shows that may put you more on edge.
You want this to be easy, fun watching.
Ways You’re Stressing Yourself Out
You do yoga five days a week, meditate, and even splurge on a monthly massage. So why are you still feeling so agitated all the time? Getting to the bottom of the sources of stress in your life wont just put a smile on your face. It can also improve the function of your body and mind, says the American Psychological Association. Living in a constant state of tension can put you at risk for chronic pain, fertility issues, even heart disease and Type Two diabetes.
Read on for six surprising ways stress can sneak up on you. Eliminate them now so you can get back to your ohm.
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Tip : Recognize When Youre Stressed
It might seem obvious that youd know when youre stressed, but many of us spend so much time in a frazzled state that weve forgotten what it feels like when our nervous systems are in balance: when were calm yet still alert and focused. If this is you, you can recognize when youre stressed by listening to your body. When youre tired, your eyes feel heavy and you might rest your head on your hand. When youre happy, you laugh easily. And when youre stressed, your body lets you know that, too. Get in the habit of paying attention to your bodys clues.
Observe your muscles and insides. Are your muscles tense or sore? Is your stomach tight, cramped, or aching? Are your hands or jaw clenched?
Observe your breath. Is your breathing shallow? Place one hand on your belly, the other on your chest. Watch your hands rise and fall with each breath. Notice when you breathe fully or when you forget to breathe.
Develop Techniques That Will Help You To Feel In Control Of Your Life
There is plenty of research that suggests that the single factor that causes most stress is feeling out of control.
One way that you can help yourself to avoid stress is to develop techniques to help you solve problems and make decisions more easily.
For example, one problem-solving technique involves writing down the problem and coming up with as many possible solutions as you can. Decide on the good and bad points of each one and select the best solution. Write down each step that you need to take as part of the solution: what will be done, how will it be done, when will it be done, who is involved and where will it take place.
There is more about this and other techniques in our series of pages on Problem-Solving and Decision-Making.
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Put Stress In Its Place
Stress is an inevitable part of life. How you cope with it has an effect on both your physical and emotional state. Here are 10 calming strategies you can use right now to get into a less stressed space and achieve stress relief. Use one of these strategies the next time you’re looking for one of the ways to stop stressing.
Ways To Reduce And Prevent Stress
Stress is evident everywhere in our fast-paced world. Its a mental, emotional, or physical strain caused by anxiety or overwork. We all feel stress and often suffer the results of it in some way or other.
What you are about to read can have a significant impact on the levels of stress you experience. This post is not about how to deal with stress its about how to reduce and avoid it.
Most of the stress we experience can be broken down into three categories.
1. Stress we cant controlsuch as the loss of a job, loss of a loved one, or encountering major health challenges.
2. Natural stresssuch as what we feel when we set goals, push ourselves outside our comfort zones, and strive to get better.
3. Stress we can controlsuch as being late to an appointment, having a breakdown in a relationship, or getting upset sitting in traffic.
When you identify and learn how to manage the things that create stress, you will experience improvements in every area of your lifefrom your relationships to your performance, from your health to your outlook on life.
Let me encourage you to print these 33 points and highlight the ones that you are determined to work on. The realization that you are in control of your stress is the foundation of stress management.
3. Avoid heated topics. You know the topics that cause your blood pressure to rise, so learn to avoid them.
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How To Stop Stressing Over Exam Results
This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD. Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015.There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 90% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 151,435 times.
Whether you have taken a course exam or a college entrance exam, feeling stressed about your results is normal. You cannot change the outcome, though, so being stressed will not help you. Instead, take steps after the test to relax, reward yourself, and spend time with good friends. Try not to over-analyze your performance or compare your answers with others.
Be More Realistic About Your Capabilities
It is helpful to remember that most people underestimate how long it will take to do something, and overestimate how much they can do. This means that they end up taking on too much, and then failing to deliver.
Develop the simple habit of doubling your time estimates for any task.
You are then far more likely to under-promise and over-deliver. This will make everyoneincluding youmuch happier than the other way round .
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What Makes Us Worry
For better or for worse, worrying is part of how weve evolved as humans. But what causes us to worry?
Our central nervous system often responds to moments of stress and fear by worrying. The definition of worry is a disturbing thought that causes uneasiness or anxiety.
We often try to use worry as a prompt to preemptively solve a problem. If you anticipate that something bad will happen, you may feel that worrying can soften the blow of negative emotion later and help you find a solution before the worst-case scenario comes to pass.
However, usually, we cant alleviate our worries right away. As we spend more time worrying, it can lead to chronic stress that takes a toll on our bodies. Thankfully, there are steps we can take to mitigate our stress and feel better almost instantly.
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What Is The Only Thing We Can Control
The only thing you can control is yourself, and even that’s up for debate. However, if you say “I need to take control of my actions,” and make a mindful effort toward taking that goal, then you’re able to make some incredible changes in your life.
What you can control? Can we control our happiness? How do you clear your mind? How Do I Stop
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Tip : Challenge Anxious Thoughts
If you suffer from chronic anxiety and worry, chances are you look at the world in ways that make it seem more threatening than it really is. For example, you may overestimate the possibility that things will turn out badly, jump immediately to worst-case scenarios, or treat every anxious thought as if it were fact. You may also discredit your own ability to handle lifes problems, assuming youll fall apart at the first sign of trouble. These types of thoughts, known as cognitive distortions, include:
How Do I Accept Reality And Move On
It can be hard to accept reality. Reality can be unpredictable and beyond your control. People who don’t accept this truth become control freaks, which can make life worse. Here are some ways to accept reality.
- Take an objective look at the world around you. Put all your emotions to the side.
- Have a realistic view of the situation.
- Can you control this reality? If so, great. If not, realize that there are sometimes no ways to stop bad things from happening.
- Learn to manage your stress about reality. When you manage your stress, you can accept it.
- Focus on your influence on reality. If you can influence it, try to find ways for you to do so.
- Notice how you cope with reality. If you cope in a healthy manner, good. If not, find ways for you to cope healthily. For example, you can share your opinion about reality, but realize it’s just that, an opinion.
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Worrying Too Much Can Affect Your Daily Life
Worry begets worry, so its easy to start worrying about one thing and end up worrying about even more areas of your life.
When worry becomes part of your everyday life, it can show up at work, with your family, in your finances, and even in your hobbies.
Excessive worry can leave you feeling frozen. When youre in a positive state of mind, its easy to pursue activities that make you feel good. However, when youre feeling anxious or worried, it feels challenging to find relief.
Over time, worrying too much can impact your emotional resilience, degrade your relationships, decrease your satisfaction in life, and make completing necessary tasks harder. Taking steps to alleviate your worry can bring relief and happiness to your life, quickly reversing the effects of excessive worry.
